Safe protection equipment for all vehicles and drivers from both front and rear

ABSTRACT

This equipment can be attached to the vehicle chassis with different ways based on the type of the vehicle. The chassis and the frame may need some enhancement.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to improvements in protecting both vehicles and drivers utilizing the elasticity of spring and/or hydraulic cylinder from either front and/or rear over collision accidents. The spring or liquid in hydraulic cylinder will be compressed to reduce the colliding force when the vehicle hit an obstacle or collides with each other. The reduced colliding force will be transferred to the chassis or frame of the vehicle. There is no change for the current airbag protection system.

BACKGROUND ART

Currently, most vehicles use airbag to protect the drivers in collision accidents. There is limitation with airbag protection. Airbag only protects driver, but not vehicle. When the vehicle hit an obstacle or collides with each other, the auto body and auto parts can be damaged. In case of heavy collision accident, not only the vehicles are seriously damaged, but also the drivers could be seriously injured or even killed due to the strong colliding force. In case the collision is not heavy, the vehicle body or auto parts still could be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to utilize the elasticity of spring or hydraulic cylinder to reduce the colliding force and transfer the reduced colliding force to the chassis or frame to protect the vehicle and improve the protection over drivers. The current airbag protection system is not changed. Overall it will significantly reduce the damage for both vehicles and drivers in the collision accidents.

In accordance with the present invention, there is a pair of hydraulic cylinders connected by a bar that is fixed to the chassis of the vehicle. Generally, the hydraulic cylinder is fixed to the bottom of the chassis. The piston rod is fixed to the front or rear bump, which is changed as a movable part from the current fixed part. The bumper can be constructed in different shape, e.g., combination of tubes, or a plate. There are 1 or 2 or 4 sliding rails that connect the bumper and the bar on another end. The sliding rails are fixed to the bumper on one end and pass through the holes in the bar. There is a stopper that is made of a small plate or tubes beside the bar to prevent the front or rear bump moving toward front or rear direction. The height and width of the hole in the bar should be big enough to prevent the sliding rails being stuck to the holes, while the lower bottom of the hole should be slightly lower than the low bottom of the sliding rails so the sliding rails are sitting right on top of the hole bottom. The sliding rail can be tube or bar. An optional spring or combination of springs are connected the front bump and the bar.

In accordance with the present invention, when the vehicle hits an obstacle or collide with another vehicle, the bump will push the spring or liquid in the hydraulic cylinder through the piston, which will reduce the colliding force by compression. If the collision is heavy, the check valve in the hydraulic cylinder should be opened by the high fluid pressure and the liquid will flow out of the bottom chamber. When the fluid pressure goes down to a low threshold, the valve is closed and the liquid will be compressed again. This process will significantly reduce the colliding force, which will be transferred to the chassis of the vehicle. If the collision is not heavy, there should be no any damage to both vehicle and driver. If the colliding is very heavy, it might trigger the vehicle to pop up the airbag. In any case, it will significantly reduce the damage to the vehicle and driver.

In accordance with the present invention, this equipment can be installed on both front and rear of the vehicle with similar design architecture for existing vehicle. For new vehicles, the vehicle might need to change the chassis and frame design to attach the equipment better. Chassis or frame strength enhancement might be needed for either existing or new vehicle.

In accordance with the present invention, multiple springs with different elasticity can be used. The combination of multiple springs with hydraulic cylinders will reduce the colliding force smoothly with the spring or hydraulic cylinder of soft elasticity being compressed first.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides the primary cross-section vertical view of the equipment from top of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 provides the horizontal cross-section view of the hydraulic cylinders (1) from left side of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 provides the horizontal cross-section view of the sliding rails (10) and optional springs from left side of vehicle.

Note: most components of the equipment could be tube or bar.

Following are the detailed information about the components in the drawings.

-   1. Hydraulic Cylinder: it is a general single-acting cylinder with a     spring (11) and a check valve (3). The check valve (3) is opened     when the fluid pressure hit high threshold and closed when the fluid     pressure hit low threshold. -   2. Piston rod: it is fixed to the front or rear bumper (6) on one     end and connected to the piston (12) on another end. -   3. Check valve: it is opened when the fluid pressure hit high     threshold and the fluid will flow out of the bottom chamber. The     valve is closed when the fluid pressure hit low threshold. -   4. Bottom rod: it fixes the hydraulic cylinder (1) to the bar (7). -   5. Stopper: it is made of tubes or small plate on end of the sliding     rails and stops front or rear bumper moving toward the front or rear     direction. -   6. Front or rear bumper: it can be designed as a plate or     combination of tubes and bars. -   7. Bar: it connects 2 hydraulic cylinders (1) and attaches them to     the chassis by another tube or bar or screw rod (8). -   8. Bar or tube or screw rod: it is fixed to the chassis. -   9. Spring or multiple springs: it connects the bumper (6) and the     bar (7) and it is optional. -   10. Sliding rails: it can be 1 or 2 or 4 tubes or small bar. It is     fixed to the bumper (6) on one end and passes through the hole in     the bar (7) on another end. -   11. Spring inside the hydraulic cylinder: it retracts when the force     on front or rear bumper (6) is removed. -   12. Piston: it is connected to the piston rod on one side and pushes     the fluid in the bottom chamber on another side. -   13. Fixing parts: it can be a screw rod that fixes the hydraulic     cylinder to the chassis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This equipment can be applied to all type of vehicles, e.g., cars, vans and trucks. The material can be steel or composites. The size of equipment or the elasticity of the spring (9) (11) or hydraulic cylinder (1) needs further experiment based on the vehicle. Generally, the equipment is installed at the bottom of the vehicle, either front or rear. The bumper (6) can be designed in different ways such as plate or combination of tube and bar. The chassis and frame of the vehicle need some strength enhancement. In case of combination of springs (9), the springs (9) or hydraulic cylinder (1) with soft elasticity should be compressed first to reduce the colliding forces smoothly.

When the vehicle hit an obstacle or two vehicles collide with each other, the bumper (5) will push the spring (9) or liquid in the hydraulic cylinder (1) by the piston through piston rod fixed to the bumper (5). If the fluid pressure hit high threshold, the check valve will be opened and the fluid will flow out of the bottom chamber. If the fluid pressure goes down to a low threshold, the check valve will be closed. During this process, the spring (9) or liquid inside the hydraulic cylinder (1) will be compressed to absorb the colliding force. The reduced colliding force will be transferred to the chassis by a bar or tube (8). If the colliding is very heavy, it might trigger the vehicle to pop up the airbag. In any case, the damage to the vehicle and the driver will be reduced significantly. 

1. A hydraulic cylinder (1) comprising: a piston rod (2) that is fixed to the bumper on one end and to the piston on another end a part such as screw rod (13) fixing the tube to the chassis a spring (11) that retracts the piston when the force on bumper is removed a check valve (3) that is opened when the fluid pressure hit high threshold and closed when the fluid pressure goes down to low threshold other parts can be found in single-acting hydraulic cylinder in generic mechanical design characterized in that the piston rod fixed to the bump push the piston (12) that push the liquid in the bottom chamber and the liquid will be compressed to absorb the colliding forces.
 2. The hydraulic cylinder as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the check valve will be opened and the fluid will flow out of the bottom chamber when the fluid pressure hit high threshold and the check valve will be closed and the fluid will be compressed again when the fluid pressure goes down to low threshold thereof the strong colliding force will be absorbed smoothly in several processes.
 3. The hydraulic cylinder as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that it transfers the reduced colliding force to the chassis of the vehicle through parts (8) and parts (13).
 4. The hydraulic cylinder as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that it can be applied to any type of vehicle such as car, van, truck and train
 5. The hydraulic cylinder as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that it can be applied to front and/or rear of the vehicle.
 6. A spring or multiple springs (9) comprising: A spring (9) fixed to the bumper (6) on one end and to a bar (7) on another end characterized in that the bumper pushes the spring thereof the spring is compressed to absorb the colliding forces.
 7. A combination of multiple springs as claimed in claim 6 characterized in that the combination of springs with different elasticity will reduce the colliding force smoothly with the spring of soft elasticity being compressed first.
 8. The spring or combination of springs as claimed in claim 6 characterized in that it transfers the reduced colliding force to the chassis of the vehicle through parts (7) and parts (8).
 9. The spring or combination of springs as claimed in claim 6 characterized in that it can be applied to any type of vehicle such as car, van, truck and train
 10. The spring or combination of springs as claimed in claim 6 characterized in that it can be applied to front and/or rear of the vehicle.
 11. A sliding rail or multiple sliding rails (10) comprising: 1 or 2 or 4 sliding rails that are fixed to the bumper on one end and pass through holes in a bar on another end. The sliding rail can be a tube or a small bar. a stopper (5) that can be a combination of tubes or a small plate on end of sliding rails (10) characterized in that the bumper will push the sliding rails moving forward along the hole in the bar and the stopper (5) will prevent the bumper move toward the front or rear direction.
 12. The sliding rails as claimed in claim 11 characterized in that it can be applied to any type of vehicle such as car, van, truck and train.
 13. The sliding rails as claimed in claim 11 characterized in that it can be applied to front and/or rear of the vehicle. 